Ukraine will find out by the end of next week if it can start the process of joining the European Union. During a surprise visit to the capital, Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday to discuss whether to nominate Ukraine as a candidate. The move would be just a preliminary step in a long process. All 27 EU governments will have to agree to grant Ukraine candidate status, after which there will be extensive talks on the reforms needed before Kyiv can consider membership. Zelensky is pushing for rapid accession to the European Union as a way to reduce Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability following the February 24 invasion of Russia. However, bloc officials and leaders warn that, even with the candidacy regime, real EU membership can take years – or even decades. Von der Leyen, on her second trip to Kyiv since the start of the Russian offensive, reminded Zelensky that despite progress on administrative reforms elsewhere, much remains to be done. “You have done a lot to strengthen the rule of law, but there is still a need for reforms that need to be implemented, for the fight against corruption, for example,” he told a joint news conference with the Ukrainian leader. EU membership is a process that usually takes years and requires strict criteria – from economic stability to the elimination of corruption to respect for human rights. Despite reservations from some Member States, EU leaders are expected to approve Ukraine’s candidacy status at a summit on June 23-24, although subject to strict conditions. Zelensky told the same source: “The whole of Europe is a target for Russia and Ukraine is only the first stage of this aggression. “This is why a positive EU response to Ukraine’s application for membership could be a positive response to the question of whether the European venture has any future.” The Russian invasion – the biggest attack on a European state since World War II – has upset Europe’s security order and prompted EU capitals to rethink what the bloc and its economic, defense and energy policies should represent. In March, European Union leaders rejected Kiev’s call for swift membership in the bloc when they met to address the urgent consequences of Moscow’s attack on its neighbor. In April, Zelensky said that Ukraine’s accession to the EU was an integral part of the “strategic vision” for its post-war reconstruction. Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation,” destroyed Europe’s post-war security order that emerged from the ashes of World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
